Blog Stats Update: The search continues

Ever since the SiteMeter fiasco, I’ve been looking for a blog stat package that I can believe.

Unfortunately I’ve not been successful.

I’ve been running WP Stats, CyStats and StatPress as well as SiteMeter. I’ve also used the raw httpd logs as a benchmark. My assumption is that the httpd logs are the most accurate.

After a few weeks I can positively say, they’re all wrong.

None of them agree with the httpd logs. StatPress and CyStats are the closest to the httpd logs in terms of counting raw hits, but that’s it. They all vary (wildly) in visit counts, top read posts and other metrics.

SiteMeter is so inaccurate I’m not even bothering with it any more. I suspect it’s because many browsers block the scripts that SiteMeter relies on.

I have drawn a few conclusions so far.

1. Any stat service external to the blog will under count hits and visits.

2. Any stat counter that relies on scripts will under count hits and visits.

3. Hit count stats are most likely to agree with the httpd logs. Other metrics depend on the algorithms used by the developer and cannot be used to compare between different stat packages.

This entry was posted in Teh Interwebz, What Am I Doing?, WordPress. Bookmark the permalink.

0 Responses to Blog Stats Update: The search continues

  1. Christopher says:

    Have you tried Google Analytics yet? It may just fit the bill.